Shadowing Practice: 8 Proven Techniques To Build English Sentences Quickly — Speak Fluently Without Memorizing! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Making English Easy for Everyone Speak English with Jay and May Hey English learners!
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Welcome back to Speak English with Jay and May, your cozy little place to build your English confidence.
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I'm May.
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Hello, May, and hello everyone!
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I'm Jay.
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How are you today, May?
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I'm doing really great, Jay.
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Actually, I'm a little excited today because we have such a fun topic.
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Oh yeah?
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What is it?
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Okay, so Jay, have you ever been in a conversation and you know what you want to say, but the words just won't come out fast enough?
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Oh my goodness, yes!
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That happens to me all the time.
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Like my brain is thinking, but my mouth is just.. frozen.
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Exactly!
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And then the moment passes and you feel a little embarrassed, right? So embarrassing.
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So today we're talking about how to fix that?
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Yes.
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Today we're talking about how to make sentences quickly in English.
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Eight simple techniques to help you speak faster and more naturally.
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Ooh, eight techniques.
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That sounds really useful.
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I already want to know all of them.
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Don't worry, we're going to go through all of them.
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But first, Jay, can you remind our listeners about something important?
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Oh, right!
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Hey everyone!
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If this podcast is helping you build your English confidence, please subscribe, turn on the notification bell,
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like this episode, and share it with a friend who is learning English too.
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It really helps us so much.
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It really does.
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Okay, are we ready to dive in? So ready.
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Let's go.
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Alright, so technique number one is use short sentences first.
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Short sentences?
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You mean like really short?
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Like, I like coffee?
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Exactly like that.
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You know, a lot of learners think they have to speak in long, perfect sentences.
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But actually, short sentences are totally fine in real conversation conversation.
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Really?
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Because I always feel like short sentences sound too simple.
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I know, I know.
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But think about it.
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Even native speakers say things like, sounds good, I agree.
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Not sure yet.
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These are super short and they're completely natural.
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Oh, wow.
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So short sentences are actually normal?
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Yes.
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And here's the thing.
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When you stop trying to build one big, long sentence, your brain relaxes.
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And when your brain relaxes, words come out faster.
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That's, like, such good advice.
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I never thought about it that way.
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So technique one is start short.
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Three to five words is enough to get the conversation going.
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Okay.
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Short sentences first.
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Got it.
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What's technique two?
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Step two is use sentence starters.
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These are little phrases you put at the beginning of a sentence to give yourself a second to think.
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You mean like buying yourself a little time?
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Exactly.
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So instead of just standing there silently, you say something like, well,
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I think, or actually, you know, or to be honest.
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Oh, like those little filler phrases.
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Yes, and they sound so natural.
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Nobody knows you're using them to think.
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It just sounds like normal conversation.
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That's kind of sneaky, but in a good way.
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Right?
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So some great sentence starters are, well, actually, to be honest, I mean, you know what?
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The thing is… These are so simple.
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I can remember these.
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That's the whole point.
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You memorize just a few of these and suddenly you always have something to say at the beginning of any sentence.
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Okay, I love technique two.
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What's next? next?
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Technique three, and this one is a game changer, is to use fixed expressions.
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Fixed expressions?
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You mean like phrases that don't change?
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Yes, these are phrases that English speakers use over and over again, exactly the same way every time.
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You don't have to build them, You just remember them and use them.
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Oh, like, how are you?
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Or no problem.
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Perfect examples.
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And there are so many more.
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That makes sense.
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I totally understand.
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Let me think about it.
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That's a good point.
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I'm not sure, but...
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Wait, these are all just ready to use?
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Ready to use.
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You don't have to think about grammar.
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You don't have to build anything.
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You just pull the phrase out and use it.
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That's like having a toolkit in your pocket.
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I love that.
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Yes, exactly.
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A toolkit.
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And the more fixed expressions you collect, the faster you can speak.
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So how do we collect more of them?
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Just notice them when you're watching movies, listening to podcasts, reading.
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When you hear a phrase used a lot, write it down.
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Practice it.
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Make it yours.
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Okay.
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Technique three, fixed expressions.
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Love it.
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What's technique four?
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Okay.
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Technique four is think in English, not in your native language.
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Oh, that sounds hard.
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I know it sounds hard, but here's why it matters.
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When you think in your native language and then translate, it takes so much extra time.
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Your brain is doing two jobs instead of one.
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Oh, wow.
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So the translation step is what slows us down.
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Exactly.
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Imagine you're ordering food at a restaurant.
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If you first think in your language, then translate to English, then speak.
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By the time you speak, the waiter has already walked away.
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I have actually experienced this.
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The waiter just walked off and I was still translating in my head.
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We all have.
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So the goal is to slowly train your brain to think directly in English, even just simple thoughts.
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Like thinking, I'm hungry, instead of thinking it in my language first?
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Exactly.
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Start with simple, everyday thoughts.
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I'm tired.
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This is delicious.
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Where are my keys?
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Just practice thinking these in English.
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That's actually not that scary when you put it like that.
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It gets easier every day.
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And when you stop translating, your speed goes up so much.
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Okay.
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Think in English, technique four.
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What's technique five?
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Technique five, practice with chunks, not individual words.
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Chunks?
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You mean like groups of words?
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Yes.
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So instead of memorizing the word go and then separately to and then the and store,
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you memorize the whole chunk, go to the store.
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Oh, so you learn the whole piece together, not word by word.
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Right.
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Because in real English, words travel in groups.
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They come out together, naturally, as one little package.
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That's so interesting.
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Like, words have friends.
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I love that.
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Yes, words have friends.
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And when you learn them together, your mouth gets used to saying them as one smooth sound.
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So instead of I want to go to, my brain already has I wanna go to ready?
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Yes, and notice how even want to becomes wanna in natural speech.
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That's chunks in action.
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Whoa, okay, my mind is a little blown right now.
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Wait, here's the interesting part.
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This is actually how babies learn language.
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they hear whole chunks like, what's that?
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Or, come here.
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And they just repeat the whole thing, not word by word.
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So we should learn like babies?
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In a way, yes.
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It's very effective.
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Collect chunks, practice chunks, speak in chunks.
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Okay, chunks.
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Got it.
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Technique six?
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Technique six is to use the present tense as your base tense.
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You mean like stick to simple present?
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Mostly, yes.
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When you're speaking fast and you're not sure which tense to use, present tense saves you so much time.
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I go to work every day.
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She likes coffee.
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These are so fast to build.
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That's true.
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Past tense and future tense have so many rules, right? So many!
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And when you're in the middle of a conversation, you don't have time to remember all the irregular past tense verbs.
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Like go, went, gone?
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I always mix those up.
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Everyone does.
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So in casual conversation, especially as a learner, leaning on present tense keeps you moving forward.
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Don't stop to remember the perfect grammar.
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Keep talking.
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So it's better to say something slightly imperfect than to say nothing at all?
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100%.
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Communication is the goal, not perfection.
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People understand you even if you say, Yesterday I go to the market, instead of I went.
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Wow, that's actually very freeing to hear.
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It really is.
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Focus on being understood, not on being perfect.
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Okay, technique 6.
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Use present tense as your base.
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This is making so much sense.
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What's technique seven?
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Okay, technique seven, and this one is so important, is to speak first, edit later.
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You mean like, don't check yourself while you're talking?
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Exactly.
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So many learners do this.
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They start a sentence, then stop in the middle, then correct themselves, then restart.
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And it breaks the flow completely.
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Oh, I do this.
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I'll be like, yesterday I… no wait.
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I mean, last week I… um… Yes!
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And it makes you more nervous, and then you make more mistakes, and then you get more nervous.
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It's a cycle.
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It really is a bad cycle.
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So what should we do instead?
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Just finish the sentence, even if it's not perfect.
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Even if you chose the wrong word, just finish it and fix it in the next sentence if needed.
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So, like, let the sentence go all the way to the end, no matter what?
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Think of it like driving.
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If you keep stopping the car every five seconds to check the map, you'll never get anywhere.
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Just keep driving and adjust the route as you go.
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Oh, that's such a good analogy.
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Just keep driving.
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Keep driving.
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Speak first, edit later.
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I love this one.
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Okay, last one.
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Technique 8.
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What is it?
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Technique eight, the final one, is to practice speaking out loud, alone, every single day.
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Alone?
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Like talking to yourself?
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Yes, and I know some people think it sounds a little strange, but this is honestly one of the most powerful things you can do.
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Why?
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Because you're not embarrassed in front of anyone?
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Partly that, but also your mouth needs practice.
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Speaking English is a physical skill.
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Your lips, your tongue, your breathing, they all need to get used to English sounds and rhythms.
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Oh wow, I never thought of it as a physical skill.
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Think about it like playing a sport.
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A football player doesn't just watch football, they practice it every day, right?
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Physically, with their body.
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That's so true.
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You can't get better just by watching.
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Same with speaking.
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You have to open your mouth and actually do it, even alone, even in the mirror, even while cooking dinner or walking to work.
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Heh.
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So I can just… narrate my whole day in English?
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Yes.
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I'm making coffee now.
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The traffic is so bad today.
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I think I'll have rice for lunch.
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Just talk, out loud, in English.
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This is where things change, isn't it?
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Like, this is the technique that actually speeds everything up.
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This is the one.
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Because all the other seven techniques, they all become faster when your mouth is used to speaking.
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Muscle memory is real.
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Okay, so to recap, we have eight techniques.
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Should we go through them quickly?
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Let's do it!
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Number one, use short sentences first.
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Number two, use sentence starters like, well, actually, to be honest.
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Number three, collect and use fixed expressions.
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Number four, think in English, not your native language.
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Number five, practice with chunks, not individual words.
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Number six, use present tense as your base tense.
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Number seven, speak first, edit later.
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And number eight, practice speaking out loud alone every day.
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That's it.
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Eight simple techniques that can honestly change the way you speak.
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You know what I love about all of these?
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None of them require you to be perfect.
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That's exactly the message.
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English learning is not about being perfect.
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It's about being brave enough to speak.
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I really needed to hear that today, honestly.
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I think a lot of our listeners needed to hear it too.
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Okay, before we close, I want to ask our listeners something.
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This is so fun.
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Go for it.
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So, out of these eight techniques, which one do you think will help you the most?
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Like, which one are you going to try today?
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Ooh, I love this question.
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Write your answer in the comments.
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We read every single one.
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We really do.
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And you know what's beautiful?
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Even writing a comment in English is practice.
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So, go ahead and do it.
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Also, if this episode gave you even one new idea, one little thing that clicked, share it with a friend who is learning English.
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You could change someone's confidence today.
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That's so true.
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Okay everyone, thank you so much for spending time with us today.
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We'll see you in tomorrow's episode.
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Until then, keep speaking, keep practicing, and remember, every sentence you say is one step closer to fluency.
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You've got this, everyone.
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Bye.
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Bye-bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 296 sentences and 2112 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:20. The speaker talks at a steady 138 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| technique noun | /tɛkˈniːk/ | The practical aspects of a given art, occupation etc.; formal requirements. |
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| chunk noun | /t͡ʃʌŋk/ | A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone. |
| phrase noun | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | A short written or spoken expression. |
| collect verb | /ˈkɑlɪkt/ | To gather together; amass. |
| translate verb | /tɹænzˈleɪt/ | To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another. |
| edit verb | /ˈɛdɪt/ | To change a text, or a document. |
| starter noun | /ˈstɑɹ.tɚ/ | Someone who starts, or who starts something. |
| listener noun | /ˈlɪs(ə)nɚ/ | Someone who listens, especially to a speech or a broadcast. |
| naturally adverb | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | In a natural manner. |
| skill noun | /skɪl/ | A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| embarrassed adjective | /ɪmˈbæɹ.əst/ | Having a feeling of shameful discomfort. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| speak out verb | To assert or promote one's opinion; to make one's thoughts known. | |
| go ahead verb | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | To proceed with; to begin. |
| go up verb | To move upwards. | |
| move forward verb | To cause to make progress. | |
| talk out verb | To resolve (a problem) by talking about it. | |
| walk away verb | To withdraw from a problematic situation. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has already walked · have actually experienced |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | friend who is |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | stop trying · practice thinking · stop translating |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should learn · should we do · Should we go |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 39 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, breathe /bɹiːð/, rhythm /ˈɹɪð.əm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: translation /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/, delicious /dɪˈlɪ.ʃəs/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, perfection /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, analogy /əˈnæləd͡ʒi/, irregular /ɪˈɹɛɡ.jə.lɚ/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like technique, tense, chunk.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.